Hon Murray McCully
Minister for the Rugby World Cup

10 September 2011 Media Statement

RWC Opening Night

Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully says he’s disappointed poor performance in two areas has spoiled for some people what was otherwise a spectacularly successful World Cup opening night.

The Minister today met with officials to debrief last night's operations having met with Police and Queens Wharf managers late on Friday night as well

"The opening night performance was spectacular and sets the scene for the next six weeks of the tournament. Having discussed the situation with Police leadership I am pleased to hear their report of very good behaviour and a very positive experience for the vast majority of members of the public. They put the number of incidents in central Auckland in the context of normally busy Friday and Saturday nights in the city,” said Mr McCully.

"Two areas of under-performance clearly require immediate attention. Auckland's public transport system failed to deliver to the required standard. In spite of reasonably successful trial events, there is no escaping the fact that last night's performance was short of the standard required. Urgent steps will now need to be taken to ensure that these matters are rectified before the next large Eden Park match next weekend,” he said.

"While Queens Wharf operations were highly successful, event arrangements for those in the Quay St area simply did not meet the needs of the extremely large crowd that gathered. While such large gatherings will occur infrequently, it is important that the structural problems evident in this area are addressed quickly.”

"I welcome the fact that Mayor Len Brown has committed the city to addressing the areas of deficiency that fall within its responsibility. Over the next few days I will continue to meet with relevant agencies to ensure there is a quick resolution of outstanding issues,” said Mr McCully.

"I emphasize the need for this to be a constructive process. We need all agencies working together to deliver a quality performance over the next six weeks," he said.

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